Cowgirl in the Sand

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"Cowgirl in the Sand"
Song by Neil Young and Crazy Horse
from the album Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
ReleasedMay 14, 1969
RecordedJanuary 18, 1969
StudioWally Heider Recording Studios, Hollywood
Genre
Length10:06
LabelReprise
Songwriter(s)Neil Young
Producer(s)

"Cowgirl in the Sand" is a song written by

Topanga, California.[2][5]

Lyrics and music

The song's lyrics are about a

promiscuous woman, or perhaps three different women if each stanza describes a different woman.[6] Author Nigel Williamson describes the lyrics as "obscure and dreamlike, addressed to some idealized woman."[2] Music critic Johnny Rogan describes the lyrics as "oblique", describing the woman as being both "idealistic" and "idealized" by the singer, referring particularly to the line "When so many love you, is it the same?"[7] Author David Downing suggests that this line reflects ambiguity as to whether increased sexual freedom is a blessing or whether it is a curse.[6] Downing, however, feels that the next line, "it's the woman in you that makes you want to play this game", was already outdated when the song was released in the late 1960s.[6] At the time of the song's initial release, Rolling Stone described the lyrics as "quietly accusative".[7] Young himself has claimed that "Cowgirl in the Sand" is about his impression of "beaches in Spain", despite the fact that when he wrote the song he had never been to Spain.[2][6]

Author Ken Bielen suggests an interpretation of the lyrics, in which Young is singing about himself. The sand in the title could be a reference to young people coming to California, which has many beaches. The woman in the first stanza could be a veiled reference to Young, since Young moved from Canada to California. Lines such as "Old enough now to change your name" and "Has your band begun to rust" could be references to Young's departure from the band Buffalo Springfield. The line "When so many love you, is it the same?" could be a reflection of Young's own ambivalence towards fame, and in Bielen's interpretation, the line that bothered Downing, "it's the woman in you that makes you want to play this game", could be a reference to Young believing that his own feminine side is causing him to seek fame despite the harassment that fame attracts.[8]

The music of "Cowgirl in the Sand", like that of "Down by the River", is based on a

Allmusic critic Matthew Greenwald describes Young's guitar playing as his "most barbed guitar excursions".[3] Rogan notes, that it "has rightly been acclaimed as a prime example of Young's distinctive, brooding guitar work."[7] However, when the song was first released, Rolling Stone, while noting that "the lead guitar, alternatively soaring, piercing and driving, keeps the song surging forward", considered Young's guitar work on this song "inferior" to that on earlier songs.[7] Rolling Stone considered Young's vocal performance as "the real key to the success of this track", particularly praising the "depth" of his voice.[7]

Young sings "Cowgirl in the Sand" primarily in the falsetto register.[9]

Reception

Hatfield-McCoy feud."[10]

Other appearances

Subsequent to its initial appearance on Everybody Knows This is Nowhere, "Cowgirl in the Sand" has been included on several Neil Young compilation albums, including Decade, Greatest Hits and The Archives Vol. 1 1963–1972.[11] Live versions have been included on The Archives Vol. 1 1963–1972, Live at Massey Hall 1971, Live at the Fillmore East and Road Rock Vol. 1.[11][12]

Cash Box said of the Byrds' version that the "spellbinding lyrics...are some of the prettiest ever."[14]

References

  1. ^ Harris, Keith; Gehr, Richard (March 24, 2014). "20 Best Second Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
  2. ^
    ISBN 9780879307417
    .
  3. ^ a b c d Greenwald, M. "Cowgirl in the Sand". AllMusic. Retrieved August 1, 2012.
  4. ^ a b Deming, M. "The Byrds [1973]". AllMusic. Retrieved August 1, 2012.
  5. ^
    ISBN 978-1560259152
    .
  6. ^
    ISBN 9780306806117
    .
  7. ^
    ISBN 978-0711953994
    .
  8. ^
    ISBN 978-0275999025
    .
  9. ^ Sheffield, Hazel (November 4, 2008). "Classic Track # 1 - Neil Young's Cowgirl In The Sand". Gigwise. Retrieved August 4, 2022. Still anchored by that uncompromisingly sturdy tempo, it is Young's transcendent falsetto that is the manifestation of someone who struggled for liberty from others, but ultimately could not escape from themselves.
  10. ISBN 978-0743201698
    .
  11. ^
    Allmusic
    . Retrieved August 6, 2012.
  12. Allmusic
    . Retrieved August 6, 2012.
  13. Allmusic. Retrieved August 6, 2012.[permanent dead link
    ]
  14. ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. June 9, 1973. p. 22. Retrieved 2021-12-11.
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